LAM09

Now the post. I really hope it isn't going to be one of those days. Doesn't seem that way. Lukaku just walking around whilst Ziyech is chasing things done. 🙄

It's him against them tbh. No idea what Lukaku & Mount are offering.

CHO in a nutshell. No idea why he just stops his run.

It's just a block with these four. No attacking threat at all.

Weird to see Kenedy back in the team & slightly surprised by Kante's absence.

They showed extensive footage of him getting a whole host of decisions wrong. He's completely out of his depth.

The Egyptian FA appealed the referee's appointment; that in itself tells you everything you need to know.

All claims/opinions on this matter are based solely on assumptions. Conte does what he does best and said he had no say whatsoever, just like most of our transfer busniness. There's no concrete details about the deal, so it's up to interpretation. Salah left Fiorentina earlier than expected due to Montella leaving (their manager at the time). They did but didn't have a chance of winning their appeal.

I'm sure Chelsea still had a say, as it wasn't an obligation. In regards to Salah himself, if a manager doesn't make an effort, what else would you expect. It's far too easy to point the finger at a sole individual.

That's the first time I've heard that, so can't comment either way.

Salah was still a Chelsea player when Conte joined, so even though Mourinho let him leave on loan, Conte sealed his departure.

I believe it's based on a number of targets being met. It will probably end up being close to £20m~, which is still decent for someone that hasn't played regularly for a few seasons.

That's what buy-back clauses are for. Salah might have been raw, but he showed what he could do against us at the highest level at the same age. CHO has been living off potential for some time, which even resulted in the club giving him a bumper contract. If he is still here come September, he has to drastically improve his end product should he have any desire to flourish at the top level.

Similar tune was sung where RLC was concerned. What happened there?

There was talk of Newcastle being seriously interested in Zapata, but it didn't materialise. Aside from Woods, they've done some astute business & could be a serious threat in the market should they stay up. Also, so much for other English clubs not willing to do business with them. Money talks.... 😄

I'm personally more keen on his Brazilian teammate, Antony. However, I would be worried about the Eredivisie factor & possibly turning out like Neres.

Leeds were supposedly interested, so it seems like he will be staying put & potentially used as leverage for Raphinha.

I'm surprised they're letting Kulusevski go. Guess they need to cover some of the Vlahovic fee.

I'm sure they'll get the softest punishment. However, a points deduction could be the different between CL & EL football (£20m~) if last season is anything to go by.

I expected allegations surrounding them and on field results to have a bearing.

You aren't alone; always thought he's had the talent but only been used as a stopgap.

No first team signings anyway. Not exactly awful considering James' imminent return and Sarr doing a decent job at LB (Kenedy being an option too?). If we weren't going to bring in first team quality, it's for the best.

Juve seem to snag most of the exciting talent in Italy, akin to Bayern in Germany.

His price tag seemed to drop quite a bit. Seems like very good business at that price. The difference between signings requested by a manager & ones primarily motivated by the board.

You have a fair point, but that's nothing more than a presumption (unless I've missed something key). My train of thought is, I presume the lack of a clause to be almost exclusive to fee originally agreed & would be a more probable reason as to why there wasn't one in this case. Recalled Kenedy & Gallagher/Gilmour had clauses depending on a games played quota. The lack of any concrete information, from what I've read, results in theories based on presumptions.